"Customers NOW prefer higher capacity equipment"

With the impending revival of infrastructure sector and the government's definitive focus on growth, sales are expected to rise in the coming days. Anil Bhatia, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, TIL shares more.

Which infrastructure segments does your material handling equipment range cater to?
TIL's material handling equipment line includes truck cranes, truck-mounted cranes, rough terrain cranes, all terrain cranes, lattice boom crawler cranes, reach stackers, container handlers and forklifts. For mobile cranes, I can see significant opportunities arising from oil and gas, cement, fertiliser, renewable energy, railways, metro, etc. As for port equipment, new avenues will be created by port modernisation projects and new port creation under Sagarmala, increased containerisation of cargo, and the development of dedicated freight corridors (DFCs) and multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs).

What are the positive trends in the current market for your equipment range?
In the near term, economic corridors, expressways, logistics parks, new metro railway projects, new investment in the oil and gas sector and increased wind power generation will spur the demand for cranes. There is likely to be higher demand for cranes in the 25T-60T segment. The demand for port equipment is likely to rise in line with increasing containerisation, development of dedicated logistics parks and the growing thrust on developing container terminals along the extensive Indian coastline.

What are the new features and technologies you provide in your equipment range?
We are market leaders in high-capacity truck cranes, truck-mounted cranes and rough terrain cranes. Truck cranes are characterized by high speed for greater inter-site mobility and limited off-road mobility accorded by large wheelbase and better suspension. The latest innovation in our range of truck cranes are longer booms for maximum reach and optimum lifting performance. Rough terrain cranes on the other hand have all-wheel steering, all-wheel drive, earthmover tyres, torque convertor transmission, multi-speed forward and reverse gears, good gradient capability, etc, which make them exceptionally maneuverable in slushy and unmade construction sites. The Hyster-TIL range of reach-stackers have outstanding maneuverability, superior handling speed and flexible stacking capabilities.

Latest offerings from TIL include a next generation pick-n-carry crane, MOBILOAD 315
- which embodies safety, easy operability, easy maintenance, and competitive cost of ownership - a new rough terrain crane, RT 750 - with a 5 section formed boom having an extended boom length - and Hyster-TIL ReachStacker, RS 45 Series, setting a new standard in low cost of ownership, without compromising on Hyster-Yale's principles of durability and toughness. We expect strong growth in demand for rough terrain cranes and hope to meet the same with our improved models in the 20 to 40T category of rough terrain cranes, certified under ARAI guidelines.

How are you gearing up to meet the expected demand growth in future? What are the challenges you foresee in the growth path?
Exciting times are ahead for material handling equipment. With the impending revival of infrastructure sector and the government's definitive focus on growth, sales are expected to rise in the coming days. There is a likelihood of demand shifting quickly in favor of high capacity mobile cranes, the segment in which TIL dominates. When that happens, the challenge will be to address the increased demand with the right products and optimise equipment uptime by way of prompt aftersales service and easy availability of spares. The port sector, and consequently the port equipment segment, is also expected to witness aggressive growth led by big projects in port modernisation and new port creation, and increased palletiSation & containerisation of goods. Overall, the outlook is very positive.

Going forward, the biggest challenge for equipment makers will be to deliver quality machines at affordable price, manage equipment downtime by way of smooth availability of spares (especially those of higher capacity equipment, which is expected to rise in the days to come) and faster and efficient service.